Sam Rainsy appeals to international community to strengthen democracy in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH (Herald) – Opposition party leader Sam Rainsy has sent an open letter to world leaders Monday and appealed to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to strengthen the democratic system in Cambodia. 

The letters were sent to the leaders of 21 countries on Monday, urging the international community to focus on commune council elections in June.

Sam Rainsy, believed to be living in exile in France, claimed that the Cambodian government opposes democracy since his name had been erased from the voting list.

Tith Sothea, spokesman of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Council of Ministers, said Tuesday that the situation in Cambodia was not as bad as the the opposition party leader claimed.

“Sam Rainsy is trying to intoxicate the international focus,” he said, noting that Sam Rainsy had been found guilty of destroying  national property.

The opposition leader has been sentenced to two years in prison for uprooting demarcation posts in Svay Rieng province near the Vietnamese border in 2009.

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